Beyond The Grief
by Goddess on a Highway
Summary: Songfic about Manny and Ellie's feelings for each other after IA2, I think they needed a little time to really fall in love and this describes the moment Manny's finally ready to give himself over to love again.


**This takes place shortly after Ice Age: The Meltdown. It's the first moments of Manny and Ellie's relation, when Manny is still grieving for first family and needs Ellie's support. It's a songfic, so I'm aware of any inaccuracies but I think this really fits Manny's feelings for Ellie.**

**Disclaimer: The song lyrics, which will be in Italics belong to Air and only to Air! And the Ice Age movies and all their wonderful characters belong to Blue Sky Studios. I gain no profits for this.**

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It was a beautiful moonlit night, ideal for the romantic sensed. The sky was a deep purple, with anthracite clouds and an occasional lost star shining from the vast universe. The air was silent but the hearts pounded loudly.

Manny had taken Ellie to a spot at the lake. The moon reflected on the rippled water. The wind whispered through the leaves of deciduous trees, of this newborn love between the two pachyderms.

The mammoth bull watched the female with her vivid green eyes, quenching her thirst from the stagnant water. Her orange pelt had turned a pale brown in the twilight. She truly was a beauty worth looking at. But his love and appreciation for her went farther than her appearance. Good looks count for nothing without a good heart, the male had learnt from his mother. And she had a heart of gold. At this moment, it beat only for him. It made him feel the happiest guy on earth.

_"Never been here - How about you?" _

_You smile at my answer,_

_You've given me the chance,_

_To be held and understood._

Manny smiled nervously at his mate to be, she looked up from drinking and frowned. She returned the smile and focused on drinking again while she tried to figure out what he was thinking. He had told her about his first mate and she understood his nervousness. She didn't want to force him into anything until he was ready for it.

_You leave me laughing without crying,_

_There's no use denying,_

_For many times I've tried,_

_Love has never felt as good._

Manny started to laugh for no apparent reason, but it was so much better than the sad feelings he had in him for so long before he met this gorgeous female. Of course he loved his first mate, and that'll always be so, but it had been so long ago since he could be happy in the presence of another mammoth. It felt so right, everything was falling into pieces while he observed this magnificent creature. Still, he didn't know whether it was right or wrong to think about her in terms of love.

_Be it downtown or way up in the air,_

_When your heart's pounding,_

_You know that I'm aware._

He could imagine her solid muscle of love beating only for him, though she needed it to stay alive. He knew at this moment his heart was only pounding for her and if she'd turn him down, it would stop and he would have no more reasons to live. But there she stood, frowning at him, trying to read his thoughts.

_You make it easy to watch the world with love,_

_You make it easy to let the past be done,_

_You make it easy._

The world was a wonderful place again, no longer overcast with a dark past but with a bright future. She had finally done the impossible, making his life easy again.

_How'd you do it ? How'd you find me ?_

_How did I find you ?_

_How can this be true ?_

_To be held and understood._

It was a mystery to him how she'd done it. Even though she seemed crazy and stubborn at first, she'd penetrated his heart as Cupid's arrow. It was hard to tell what brought them together but he was sure he'd face any force of nature with pleasure for her. Compared to the flood of love he felt for her, the meltdown was just a drop of rain. It was unbelievable that he'd ever meet his match again. Some only met their true love once, others never, but he did twice.

_Keep it coming - no one's running_

_The lesson I'm learning_

_'Cause blessings are deserved_

_By the trust that always could_

He could fall in love with her again and again and again. She taught him that he had all the right to fall in love again, that he deserved the blessing of true love once again. Even though he felt disloyal to his first love at times, looking at her made him understand it was all right. She gave him the time to get used to this new wave of emotions without claiming his heart for her only.

_Be it downtown or way up in the air,_

_When your heart's pounding,_

_You know that I'm aware._

Wherever he was, he would always feel the earth quiver from the heavy beats of her heart. He could only hope she felt the same but the look she gave him right now confirmed that he was right. Her emerald eyes smiled invitingly to welcome him into her world.

_You make it easy to watch the world with love,_

_You make it easy to let the past be done,_

_You make it easy._

As he moved closer towards this lovely female, he knew she wouldn't turn him down. He saw the world through different spectacles again, the pink coloured ones. There was nothing he could change about the past but the future was theirs. And she made it so easy for him to think positively with that look in her eyes, a look that told so much about her feelings for him and he wouldn't turn her down either.

_You make it easy to watch the world with love,_

_You make it easy to let the past be done,_

_You make it easy._

Yes, life was easy again. Thanks to this ravishing mammoth that walked into his life and climbed up his tree. Before he realised it, she stood right in front of him pulling his trunk down with hers, looking into his dark eyes with her fresh greens. This was it, nothing would ever come between them, except for a mini-mammoth maybe but that's a different story...

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**Hope you like it. I know it's short and I should probably work on other fics but I had this idea in my mind for so long, I'm glad it's gone. R&R please! **


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